Newt Gingrich Echoes Secretary Thompson's Warning; Former House Speaker Calls for a 21st Century Vi

Newt Gingrich Echoes Secretary Thompson's Warning; Former House Speaker Calls for a 21st Century Virtual Public Health System

releases.usnewswire.com...

12/4/2004 4:23:00 PM


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To: National Desk and Health Reporter

Contact: Rick Tyler of Gingrich Communications, 540-338-1250 or [email protected]

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Former Speaker Newt Gingrich implored the Bush administration and lawmakers on Capitol Hill to heed outgoing Secretary Thompson's dire warning that the United States is at significant risk of a flu pandemic because the nation is not prepared to adequately deal with it.

Secretary Tommy Thompson, in a news conference to announce his resignation, took the opportunity to issue a warning about the threat as well as a threat to our nation's food supply by a terrorist attack.

Gingrich pointed out that while it is highly unusual for an outgoing Cabinet member to make such strong statements about a threat to the nation, Secretary Thompson is in a position to know how serious the threat is. "I have known and worked with Tommy Thompson since he was Governor of Wisconsin. He is a serious person with a tremendous record of accomplishment. His work on welfare reform as governor and as a transformational leader of Health and Human Services speaks for itself," Gingrich said. "Having said that, Thompson's warning about a flu pandemic was his greatest single service to our country."

Gingrich concluded that if Thompson is concerned, than the threat is real. He called on the Congress to meet the challenge of creating a 21st century virtual public health system that can respond to the threat of a pandemic, and suggested starting with hearings so that Members of Congress and the nation can understand the full scale of the threat.

While there is a chance than terrorists could take advantage of this country biologically, we Americans do little to prevent the spread of infectious contaminants.
A little soap and water would go a long way to help contain the spread of flus. Some respect for fellow man and better persoanl health habits.

We should do what we can to avoid illness. The government cant do it alone.

Donttread, they're talking about the flu pandemic, not a terrorist biological attack.

Wonder if George will act.

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
While there is a chance than terrorists could take advantage of this country biologically,

The 1933 sequences in 2004 pigs in Korea raise a VERY big red flag

www.recombinomics.com...

Originally posted by niman

Secretary Tommy Thompson, in a news conference to announce his resignation, took the opportunity to issue a warning about the threat as well as a threat to our nation's food supply by a terrorist attack.

This nation has the stupid idea that it needs to import it's food because it is cheaper. The people of this country have no idea what the other countries use on the food crops. In some countries, it is a common practice to use human waste as fertilizer and most countries use chemicals on the crops that have been banned in this country for years.

Originally posted by MBF
This nation has the stupid idea that it needs to import it's food because it is cheaper.

Well, before we go blaming the country for this, let's stop and think. The consumers want grapes year round. They want watermelon years round. They want tomatoes yeara round. They want exotic produce that may not grow on our soil. Etc., etc.
Obviously, hothouses cannot supply the demand for all of this.
So, we import because there is consumer demand.

FWIW, I have found it is nearly always MUCH cheaper to buy my produce locally from a farmer's market, in season. So, the import because it's cheaper doesn't hold water.

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe

Well, before we go blaming the country for this, let's stop and think. The consumers want grapes year round. They want watermelon years round. They want tomatoes yeara round. They want exotic produce that may not grow on our soil. Etc., etc.

All true. Some foods can't be produced year around in this country and some not at all so we will always have to import some of our food. The problem is that foods are being imported at the same time that they are in season in this country because they are cheaper. A few years ago there was a problem with strawberries that were imported that made a lot of school kids sick. It was found that the strawberries had been fertilized with human waste which caused the sickness. The strawberries had been purchased by the school system because they were cheaper than the ones being grown in that same state at the same time.

I'm a farmer so I see the problems with these cheap imports all the time. The other countries are not held to the same standards as the American farmer. They can use chemicals that we can't because they have been banned in this country and they are cheap. I've been in stores that were selling produce that I couldn't even put in a box.

I have a cousin that is the purchasing agent for a major grocery store chain in this area. He told me that he would rather buy locally grown produce because it is higher quality, but he was forced to purchase imported produce because it is cheaper.

Thank you for buying at your local farmers market. You will get a higher quality product.